We need to fix our broken political system

Published: Friday, January 11, 2013 at 7:31 a.m.

Last Modified: Friday, January 11, 2013 at 7:31 a.m.

As a student of history, I have on many occasions been impressed by the absolute pure luck we have enjoyed in our country by having the group of people who wrote our Constitution and formed our system of government.

Looking around the world over the past several hundred years and seeing the mess that has evolved from a large number of attempts at government formation, it is astounding how so few have succeeded even close to our good fortune.

Looking at the mess we now have in the national government, I can’t help but wonder, “What has gone wrong, and where are the brains that once resided in that lofty building in Washington?”

I am sure the brains are still there, but the motivation is now directed into new areas. At the beginning of our country, our leaders set out to build a government that would represent the citizens of our country and give them the freedoms that were not available to people in the countries before this time.

They built a form of government that was not perfect by today’s standards but was downright altruistic by the standards of that time in history.

The only persons represented in our first government were white males. We took a long time, but eventually white women were allowed to vote and serve in government. My own personal opinion is that white males realized they weren’t safe eating food prepared by white women unless they treated them in a better fashion and let them into the “old boys club.” It took much longer to open the door to minorities, but we now have a pretty open electorate. We are not perfect, but looking around the world, I don’t see any country that is a better place to live than our own.

The members of Congress who created the current mess have changed their viewpoint from the way they decide what laws to support and who benefits from these laws.

I have some insight into the political process because over the past 65 years I have been a working member of the Democratic, Republican and Libertarian political parties. During those times I have done just about every kind of job in everyday politics. I am no longer working in politics because it became apparent that despite good, honest people in all of the parties, the ability to have Congress represent the average American was not going to happen, and the party system is part of the problem.

The different political parties are all run today by people who are “true believers.” They know that their party is most important. They follow the party line completely and never question it. Everything done in Congress must benefit their party and if possible damage the other party. All legislation is made to ensure their re-election and if possible damage the members of the opposition party. This causes laws to be passed that will be of benefit to the sources of money for their party members. The country ends up being run not for the citizens or doing what’s best for our country but what is best for the interests in our country who can pay to elect the winning team.

From my viewpoint, the only way to avoid having this become the normal government in the future is to change the election process so that members of the House and Senate are elected to a six-year term and can only serve a single term and are not allowed re-election to either house of Congress ever.

We cannot allow our country to be governed by professional politicians.

<p>As a student of history, I have on many occasions been impressed by the absolute pure luck we have enjoyed in our country by having the group of people who wrote our Constitution and formed our system of government.</p><p>Looking around the world over the past several hundred years and seeing the mess that has evolved from a large number of attempts at government formation, it is astounding how so few have succeeded even close to our good fortune.</p><p>Looking at the mess we now have in the national government, I can't help but wonder, “What has gone wrong, and where are the brains that once resided in that lofty building in Washington?”</p><p>I am sure the brains are still there, but the motivation is now directed into new areas. At the beginning of our country, our leaders set out to build a government that would represent the citizens of our country and give them the freedoms that were not available to people in the countries before this time.</p><p>They built a form of government that was not perfect by today's standards but was downright altruistic by the standards of that time in history.</p><p>The only persons represented in our first government were white males. We took a long time, but eventually white women were allowed to vote and serve in government. My own personal opinion is that white males realized they weren't safe eating food prepared by white women unless they treated them in a better fashion and let them into the “old boys club.” It took much longer to open the door to minorities, but we now have a pretty open electorate. We are not perfect, but looking around the world, I don't see any country that is a better place to live than our own.</p><p>The members of Congress who created the current mess have changed their viewpoint from the way they decide what laws to support and who benefits from these laws.</p><p>I have some insight into the political process because over the past 65 years I have been a working member of the Democratic, Republican and Libertarian political parties. During those times I have done just about every kind of job in everyday politics. I am no longer working in politics because it became apparent that despite good, honest people in all of the parties, the ability to have Congress represent the average American was not going to happen, and the party system is part of the problem.</p><p>The different political parties are all run today by people who are “true believers.” They know that their party is most important. They follow the party line completely and never question it. Everything done in Congress must benefit their party and if possible damage the other party. All legislation is made to ensure their re-election and if possible damage the members of the opposition party. This causes laws to be passed that will be of benefit to the sources of money for their party members. The country ends up being run not for the citizens or doing what's best for our country but what is best for the interests in our country who can pay to elect the winning team.</p><p>From my viewpoint, the only way to avoid having this become the normal government in the future is to change the election process so that members of the House and Senate are elected to a six-year term and can only serve a single term and are not allowed re-election to either house of Congress ever.</p><p>We cannot allow our country to be governed by professional politicians.</p>